'The Luxury of Self-Examination'

I am on a lonely road and I am travelling,

travelling, 

travelling

-Joni Mitchell

A Great Canadian Adventure has begun.

From New York to Canadia's capital, Ottawa, this past March 26... we celebrated Alice's birthday. For those that read this, that don't know, though most of you know me or have seen my facebook littered with pictures of a blond girl that looks like my sister... she is one of the greatest platonic loves of my life. Everything I make generally in some way or another goes past her.  Everything I do generally gets told to her or is with her, and what is separate still holds a link of togetherness and love that  surprises, delights, frustrates and ignites me. She's a rock of inspiration. Woody to my Buzz (that's a Toy Story reference)

Now she's back in New York working on her genius, and I'm hanging with my superstar aunt. I'm off to Regina, Saskatchewan on April 1. That's a 3 hour drive from where Joni Mitchell was born. 

I'm presenting a small collection on April 16, as one of the designers featured in The Power of Pink. This is an amazing event, a bi-annual fundraiser for breast cancer. It is it's 10th anniversary and 5th show. I have been apart of 3 of them. The first one I was in grade 12 at LeBoldus High school. That means I've been out of high school for 10 years. 

At 28, feeling every discombobulation of a Saturn Return, I feel one part very old and one part like I'm still 13 in a slightly oversized coat that I'm waiting to grow into. That's part of why I do so many self portraits, or draw parts of myself. I've always found bodies, people, figures so much more interesting than plants or inanimate objects (not saying plants don't have life-they do) but I'm interested in the figure. I'm interested in the way I draw myself and other people. I like drawing all the lines and seeing how they are pronounced, how I perceive myself, how I perceive people- it's a physical experience of understanding how I feel in a time. It's also a practice of my craft that is basic and important. If it's been a while since drawing something, or I feel the pressure to suddenly draw a masterpiece (which usually ensures I will produce something really shitty) I go back to grade 9 art class, and a contour drawing of my hand.

Read, write, draw. 

Back to basics.

Back to my first real show, 10 years later.

Back home. 

Saturn returns.

I am so excited to show you the things that are being worked on. There's a few other projects to promote along the way. 

After Regina, I hit up Toronto May 3-5, and then back to the Apple.

A big part of this journey, this adventure, like any return, my own personal retrograde, is heal up. Not to imply I am wounded, but rather get brave. Get strong. Our physical selves change as we change and  though you may not see it the way you see a wrinkle, or the growth spurt of a child, there's always something going on and our bodies and hearts need attention... and it's easy to forget or let an aspect slip when your 'run' is to the next train. You need to work as much as you need to play. And you need to rest as much as you need to get excited. 

I'm re-reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It's his quote that is the title of this blog. And while I quoted Joni's All I Want at the top, and loneliness is my love/hate friend, I am aware that I am not on this road alone. I am on my own path, but I am not alone. I have great friends and family on my side, and you're part of that in simply reading this. Art, fashion, the process of self-examination, expression, documentation is only possible when we are not hunting for food or building our shelters. Isabel Marant said very poignantly in a New York Mag interview, 'I have to live with myself.' I am an artist. I am not a hunter. My contribution to the tribe is my work, and I hope it provides thought and understanding and expression to and of the self. So feel good. Contribute. Know your power and use it with love.

Pencil with coffee on the stairs 9x12"